Pressing and ironing machine and method



Nov. 12, 1957 w. o. KRAMER PRESSING AND momma MACHINE AND METHOD 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1. 1951 ill INVENTOR WlLLIHM 0. KR MER ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1957 w. o. KRAMER 2,8

PRESSING AND momma MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 1, 1951 3 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR WILLHQM o. KRHMER BY 62am? ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1957 w. o. KRAMER PRESSING AND IRONING MACHINE AND METHOD 3 Sheets$heet 3 Filed May 1 1951 INVENTOR WILLJHM O. KFRQMER ATTORNEY Unigd Swims at nt-O PRESSING AND IRONING MACHINE AND METHOD William 0. Kramer, West Leesport, Pan; Carrie L.

Kramer, administratrix of said William 0.Kramer, deceased Application May 1, 1951, Serial No. 223,859

3 Claims. (Cl. 38-8) This invention relates to a pressing and ironing machine and method and is an improvement and extension of the invention disclosed and claimed in my application Ser. No. 106,565, filed July 25,1949.

. In said application there is disclosed and claimed a machine and method for pressing goods and ironing it on one side. That invention is carried out by providing a long conveyor belt having its upper course extending horizontally for moving folded goods laid on the belt in a receiving region, under a pressing and ironing shoe and thence into a delivery region where it is removed from the belt and packaged. That machine has been found satisfactory especially for light weight goods. There is a demand however, for a machine for pressing goods, especially heavy weight goods, more compactly and for ironing both the front and rear faces of the oods.-

Among the objects of this invention are the provision of a method and of a machine for compactly pressing goods such as a folded garment, and for ironing both faces of said garment during its movement from a folding regiQn to, a packaging region.

A more specific object of this invention is to attain such general objects by the use of a machine of the type disclosed in said application and by modifications thereof nd add ti s t e e the, upper horizontal. course of the conveyor belt which provides a receiving table-like section and a delivery table-like section, is directed downwardly as it leaves the receiving region and then upwardly inv front of the top or front face pressing and ironing shoe to provide space for a bottom or rear face pressing and ironing shoe, and a supplemental conveyor belt is provided to cooperate with said latter shoe to receive the garment from the receiving section of the main conveyor belt, move it across said latter shoe and deliver it to the other section of the main conveyor belt to be moved across the face of the top or front face pressing and ironing shoe into the de ive y r s gn.

It is another specific object of this invention to provide a driving roller driven by thernain belt for driving a driven roller which supports the supplemental belt and to provide a driving means between said rollers for driving the supplemental belt at the same rate of speed as the main belt and which permits said supplemental. belt to be adjustably spaced from its cooperating shoe, and permits freedom of vertical movement thereof with re-. spect to said shoe under reacting pressure of the garment and when raised to prevent burning of said supplemental belt atthe end of a run of goods.

Another object of this invention is, the provision of simplified means, for supporting the top or front face ironing shoe and the supplemental belt at the required distancesfrorn and inclinations to their cooperating belt and shoe, for regulating the pressing pressure exerted by said top or front face ironing shoe and by said Supplemental belt, and for slightly raising one end of In the accomplishment thereof,

2 said front face ironing shoe and said supplemental belt for preventing overheating of said belts at the end of a run and for raising them to a greater extent to afford access for cleaning and polishing the faces of said shoes.

It is also an object to provide means for heating said shoes at the same or different temperatures found most satisfactory to obtain the best results.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent from a description of the invention with references to a preferred embodiment disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pressing and ironing section of the machine as viewed from the right or control side,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pressing and ironing section of the machine as viewed from the left side,

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine,

Figure 4 is a side view of the bottom or rear face pressing and ironing section of the machine,

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 Figure 3 and Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of means for supporting and raising the rear end of the supplemental belt.

The pressing and ironing machine of the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a table T, Figure 3, consisting of a rectangular frame work comprising rails 2 of the cross sectional shape shown in Figure 5 to receive and support a table top 4. The rails are supported on legs 6. Suitably supported on the table are a main conveyor belt B and a bottom ironing unit Bi and a top ironing unit TI preferably arranged in the order shown with relation to the direction of travel of the main belt B.

The main conveyor belt B has an upper horizontal course slidable on the table top 4 which is interrupted in the bottom ironing unit B1. The belt B passes over roller 8 journaled in the side rails 2 and over a roller 9 journaled in the legs 6 below the bottom ironing unit BI. The driving, roller 8 of the main belt B is driven by a motor M at the desired speed under control of the control box 10, Figure 1, in the direction indicated by the arrows to carry the goods to be pressed, first into the bottom ironing unit and then into the top ironing unit. A main control box is preferably provided as indicated at 11, Figure 1.

The main belt B comprises a long horizontal section in a receiving section at the left of the ironing units, Figures 1, 3 and 4 and at their right Figure 2, upon which goods such as folded garments g, Figure 2, which may be folded on tables FT, are laid preferably with their neck portions extending in the direction shown whereby the body portion of the folded garment which is less subject to be disturbed or pushed up, enters the pressing and ironing units first and the neck portion which is loosely folded on top of the body of the garment and which is more easily subject to be disturbed, enters these units last and after the body portion has been compacted and ironed to a certain degree. The receiving section is made long enough to receive the garments folded by several operators, the number of which is dependent within limits on the desired capacity of the machine. The section of the belt B in the delivery region on the other side of the pressing and ironing units is of a length to accommodate the number of packaging operators required to package the pressed and ironed garments. Packaging tables PT may be provided to facilitate this operation.

The bottom pressing and ironing unit BI comprises an ironing shoe BS, Figures 2 and 4 suitably irnmovably secured to the table T with its upwardly facing ironing face 12 lying substantially in the plane of the upper face of the upper course of the horizontal sections of the main conveyor belt B and having its ends terminate in close proximity to the adjacent ends of said sections.

The shoe BS is preferably heated electrically by heating units 13, Fig. 4, to the required temperature under control of the control box 14,'Fig.- 1", as 'is; understood.

i The folded garment to be pressed and ironed is moved across the face of the ironing'shoe BS preferably by means of a short conveyor belt b, Figs. 1', 2,4 and 5, supported on rollers 16, suitably journaled in the side wallsof an inverted U-shaped frame 17 and tensioned -by an idler roller 18 adjustably supported in said side walls. The rear roller is employed to drive the belt b and for this purpose is provided with a sprocket wheel 19, Figs. 3, 4 and 5, over which passes a sprocket chain 20 driven from a sprocket wheel 21 of the same diameter secured on the shaft of the roller 9 which is'driven by the main conveyor belt B. By means of this driving mechanism the belt b is driven at the same rate of speed as the main conveyor belt B so that it will seize, move and deliver the folded garment at the same rate of speed at which the main conveyor belt B feeds the folded garment to it and receives the pressed and bottom ironed folded garments from the bottom pressing and ironing unit BI.

As is about to be described provision must be made to allow the frame 17 to rise for purposes of initial adjustment and for raising the frame at the end of a run, and this may be accomplished by the use 'of an idler sprocket wheel 22, Fig. 4, mounted on an arm 23 pivoted on the leg 6 as shown and engaging the sprocket chain 20 to keep it taut and permit the frame 17 to be raised;

The means for supporting the frame 17 and therefore the belt b at the proper distances from the smoothing face of the bottom shoe BS preferably comprises four brackets, including lefts and rights, which for convenience are designated by the same reference character 25. These brackets are located in the vicinity of the four corners of the frame 17. Each bracket comprises a depending leg 26 slotted as at 27 to receive locking bolts 28 mounted in the rails 2 as shown. The brackets include horizontally extending supporting plates 29 for supporting the frame 17 and provide means for adjusting the lower limit of movement of the belt b and its inclination with respect to the ironing face of the bottom shoe BS.

Supported and resting loosely on the supporting plates 29 of the brackets on each side of the frame 17 is a long bar 30 each provided at its inner edge near its forward end with an car 31 carrying a stud 32 pivotally received in an open ended slot in an arm 33 pivotally supported on the side walls of the frame 17. Any suitable means may be provided to releasably lock the arm in stud engaging position.

Near their rear ends the bars 30 are provided with similarly located ears 34 on which are pivoted as at 32', Fig. 6, cam arms 35 which are provided with cam slots 37 through which the projecting ends of a rod 38 also mounted in the side walls of the frame 17 extend. By swinging the cam arms 35 counter clockwise Fig. 2, the rear end of the frame 17 and of the belt b may be raised away from the heated shoe BS.

The front end of the frame 17 may be raised to provide access to polish and clean the bottom shoe BS, by releasing the arms 33 from the studs 32 and raising this end of the shoe by any means such as rods 39 pivoted to the frame 17 and which may comprise a barrel and a spring projected plunger as is understood. I

In order to maintain the adjustment effected by means of the brackets 25 in case of failure thereof, threaded set bolts 40 are provided one for each bracket. The bolts as shown pass loosely through holes in the bars 30 and are threaded into the supporting plates 29 and have their ends in engagement with the table top 4 or the rails 2.

For the purpose of controlling the pressing and ironing pressure, adjustable pressure controlling mean-s is provided for each end of the bars 30 and therefore for each corner of the frame 17. This means comprises a threaded bolt 44 having its lower end suitably anchored in the supporting plate 29 of the bracket 25 and projecting loosely through a hole in the bar 30. Threaded on its upper end is a hand wheel nut 46 for adjusting the compression of a spring 47 surrounding the bolt and bearing on the bar 30.

By means of the mechanism described the speed of the main conveyor belt B and therefore of the belt b may be adjusted, the temperature of the bottom shoe BS may be controlled, the space between the front end of the belt b and shoe BS may be adjusted for different thicknesses of garments, the inclination of the belt b to the shoe BS may be adjusted to the maximum compactness desired, and the springs 47 may be compressed to control the pressing and ironing pressure.

After the garments have been pressed and have been ironed on their bottom or rear faces, they are carried by the main belt B through the top pressing and ironing unit TI which includes an ironing shoe TS which may be heated electrically at a desired temperature by electrical heating units 50 under control of a control box 51 which may be mounted on the shoe.

The top face ironing shoe TS may be supported on the table T by means functionally the same and substantially the same structually as the means supporting the frame 17. The brackets 25 and the side bars 30 are modified so that the set bolts 40 and the springs 47 may be located as shown. The ears 31 on the bars 30 are perforated to receive the ends of a rod 52 mounted in the front end of the shoe TS. The ears 34 on the bars 30 are located near the ends of the bars because of the location of the rod 53 which is supported in projecting ears 55 on the rear end of the shoe TS as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The rod 53 is preferably made of telescoping spring extended parts as is understood so that its projecting ends may be withdrawn from the slots in the arms 35 and the rear end of the shoe to be supported by seating the rod 53 in slots 56 in rigid extensions 57 on the arms 35, to provide access to the face of the shoe for cleaning and polishing purposes.

A guard 58, Fig. 1, may be provided to enclose the sprocket drive mechanism. All of the control boxes are preferably mounted in the region of the pressing and ironing units between the folding and packaging operators positions.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the parts adjusted for pressing and ironing the folded garment g which is shown about to enter the bottom ironing unit BI in Fig. 2 with its body portion entering first. The garment is pressed and its bottom or rear side ironed as it is carried through the bottom pressing unit BI which then delivers the garment onto the main conveyor belt B to be carried through the top pressing and ironing unit TI to be further compacted and to be ironed on its top or front face by the top pressing shoe TS. The pressed and ironed garment is then carried into the delivery or packaging region ready for packaging.

As shown, the pressing and ironing shoes are preferably considerably longer than the length of the folded garments so that the folded garments may be compacted to the desired degree without being pushed up as they are carried into and through the pressing units and also so that they may be heated the necessary length of time to effect a satisfactory ironing operation.

It is to be understood that changes and modifications within the principles of this invention will be apparent to those familiar with this art after understanding this invention, and that the appended claims are not to be limited to the embodiment disclosed as a preferred method and means of practicing this invention except as may be necessitated by prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ironing machine, the combination of a supporting frame, an ironing shoe member, a goods conveyor member, means fixedly supporting one of said members on said frame and means supporting the other of said members on saidframe for movement to and away from said one member and at a desired distance therefrom and at a desired angle of inclination therewith, comprising a pair of spaced member supporting brackets on each side of said frame on which said other member rests and means adjustably mounting said brackets on said frame, means providing a pivoted connection between one end of said other member and the adjacent brackets and cam means between the other end of said other member and its adjacent brackets for raising said end of said other member away frorn said brackets to prevent overheating of said conveyor member at the end of a run.

2. In a pressing and ironing machine comprising a table, an ironing shoe supported on said table with its smoothing face facing upwardly, a belt cooperating with said shoe, a frame supporting said belt, means pivotally mounting one end of said frame on said table, means releasably supporting the other end of said frame on said table, and means automatically raising said latter end of said frame upon release thereof from said table.

3. In a pressing and ironing machine comprising a table, a belt supported on and movable over said table, an ironing shoe positioned above said belt and pivotally supported at one end on said table, means supporting the other end of said shoe on said table comprising perforated arms pivotally supported on said table and a rod supported in said shoe having its ends engaging inthe perforations in said arms, said rod comprising telescoping sections whereby its ends may be disengaged from said arms, and rests at the upper ends of said arms for said rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 234,631 Vandercar Nov. 16, 1880 325,122 Shearer Aug. 25, 1885 1,440,862 Benjamin Jan. 2, 1923 1,656,893 Clisson Jan. 17, 1928 2,121,849 Allme June 28, 1938 2,388,392 Davies Nov. 6, 1945 

